5 Things You Don’t Need To Share The Gospel

You may or may not have heard the recent news about an evangelist asking his followers to donate money so he can buy a $54 million dollar jet (so he can tell more people about Jesus). Apparently the $21 million jet on his runway has to stop for fuel too often – and you know how those jet fuel stations can be, right?! Before this gets too snarky, let me just say that this is not a swipe at preachers with jets, or pools, or nicer houses than mine or whatever… (maybe another day)

It’s about the gospel of Jesus giving us the hope of reconciliation with God, and what it takes to share that hope with people who need it. If you have aligned yourself with Jesus, you’ve been directed to do just that. God hasn’t called very many of His people to stand on a stage and preach Christ to thousands of faces in the crowds, but He has called (and gifted) every single one of us to share the love of His Son with everyone we can. But there are a lot of people in a lot of churches who don’t ever share Christ with anyone because they think they don’t have what it takes.

Here’s what you don’t need to share the gospel:

You don’t need a jet. Let’s just get this one out of the way first. You can tell people about Jesus without a plane! Who knew? You really don’t even need to go anywhere, necessarily, let alone to some far corner of the world. People right where you are need to hear the truth of Jesus. Your neighbors, followers, and Facebook friends don’t know who Jesus is. Explain.

You don’t need a Bible college degree. “I’ll just leave the preaching to the professionals.” Specialized training is not necessary to tell someone about Jesus – you just have to know Jesus! Certainly, Bible college is a great way to gain a depth of perspective that you might not already have. I love school, graduated from a Christian College, and am sending my first kid to one in a couple months. But in no way is it a pre-requisite for talking about Jesus. The first disciples were once referred to as “unschooled, ordinary men…” They did a pretty good job sharing the gospel, don’t you think?

You don’t need a pulpit or any other kind of platform. Maybe that should be developed, but maybe not. You already have all the platform you need right now in the form of relationships with the people around you. Speak Christ into those relationships.

You don’t need a charismatic personality. I used to have a problem with this one. I think I’m pretty boring. I can’t imagine much of a reason for anyone to listen to me talk about much of anything. I will never walk into a room and instantly have everyone hanging on every word I breathe into existence. But I don’t need that. I have the one who breathed me into existence living inside me, and sometimes, when I get my self out of the way, He talks to people through me. His personality is the one that matters, not mine. And it’s amazing!

You don’t need all the answers. I hear a lot of people who feel like they can’t talk about Jesus with their friends because they don’t know how to answer all their questions. It’s a legitimate feeling. But it’s not a legitimate reason to withhold the truth from your neighbor. Don’t be afraid of questions. Grab hold of them and wrestle with them alongside the people who’re asking.

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Basically… In order to share the gospel with someone, you need to have confidence in Jesus and compassion for your neighbor. When He is alive in you and you are responsive to Him, He will speak through you and your words to explain Himself. It’s incredible, and you should experience it, plane or no plane!